YIVO Yiddish Folksong Festival: May 2022

4 Concerts. Over 12 Premieres. Over 30 Musicians.

(New York, NY) – This May, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is hosting Continuing Evolution: Yiddish Folksong Today, the largest music festival of its kind featuring four concerts which cross stylistic boundaries between classical and folk music. The festival features the premiere of more than twelve newly commissioned classical works alongside a wealth of lesser-known compositions from YIVO’s archival collections, and performances by over thirty musical artists.

There will be the in-person premiere of previously commissioned work by YIVO based on Yiddish folksong from a slew of esteemed composers: Martin Bresnick, Marti Epstein, Aaron Kernis, Judith Shatin, Derek David, David Ludwig, Anthony Russel, Daniel Schlosberg, Uri Schreter, Dan Shore, and Alex Weiser* as well as four brand-new premieres from composers Annie Gosfield, Lainie Fefferman, Anat Spiegel, and Paul Alan Levi.

The festival also features a who’s-who of contemporary Yiddish folksong artists including Eléonore Biezunski, Carol Freeman, Sarah Gordon, Janet Leuchter, Gerald Marcus, Sarah Myerson, Ethel Raim, Zachary Scholl, Miryem-Khaye Seigel, Ilya Shneyveys, Lorin Sklamberg, Joshua Waletzky, and Eléonore Weill. Among the commissioned composers and performers are Grammy award winners, a Pulitzer Prize recipient, Guggenheim fellows, and an NEA National Heritage Fellow. Five of the composers have studied Yiddish at YIVO.

Alex Weiser Composer and Director of the festival and YIVO’s Public Programs said:

“The festival highlights creative work drawing from YIVO’s archival and library collections. Inviting artists to engage with YIVO’s collections offers us valuable perspective on the relevance of the Jewish past for our culture today.”

Derek David, composer and alumnus of YIVO’s Uriel Weinreich Summer Program in Yiddish Language, Literature, and Culture, described the songs he reimagined in his work:

“Within these recordings, I hear myself, deeply and personally reflected. Above all, I hear them uniquely in a way that Bach and Mozart can’t offer me: I hear these universal emotions as distinctly Yiddish. As a composer, I’ve never encountered something that spoke to me so directly, so honestly, and so uniquely.”

The festival’s four concerts take place in-person and will be livestreamed on Zoom. The festival also includes a panel discussing the recently completed YIVO Folksong Project: East European Jewish Folksong in its Social Context which features project director Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, ethnomusicologist Mark Slobin, singer and composer Joshua Waletzky, and YIVO Sound Archivist Eléonore Biezunski.

*These works all premiered in online performances during the pandemic and are available for viewing on YIVO’s YouTube channel.

EVENT DETAILS

The first concert will take place on Monday, May 9, 2022 at 7:00pm ET at YIVO in the Center for Jewish History building (15 West 16th Street, New York, NY). This concert features music by Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, Joel Engel, Alexander Veprik, and Aaron Copland, alongside the premiere of new works by Martin Bresnick, Annie Gosfield, Paul Alan Levi, and Alex Weiser. Performances will be by cellist Julian Schwarz, pianist Marika Bournaki, clarinetist Moran Katz, violinists Yevgeny Kutik and Adelya Nartadjieva, and violist Colin Brookes. This evening also features performances by Joshua Waletzky and Eléonore Weill.

The second concert will take place on Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 7:00pm ET at YIVO. This concert features music by Stefan Wolpe, Lazare Saminsky, and Joseph Achron, alongside the premiere of new works by Marti Epstein, Aaron Kernis, Anthony Russell/Uri Schreter, Judith Shatin, and Anat Spiegel. Performances will be by members of the Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program: sopranos Abagael Cheng, Maria Giovanetti, Francesca Lionetta, and Montana Smith, bass-baritone Michael Aoun, and pianists Bat-Erdene Batbileg, Neilson Chen, and Gwyyon Sin. This evening also features performances by Carol Freeman and Zachary Scholl.

The third concert will take place on Sunday, May 22, 2022 at 4:00pm ET at the Jalopy Theatre (315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY). This concert, a collaboration with The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life, features a showcase of contemporary artists engaged with Yiddish folksong performing material collected as a part of YIVO’s 1973-1975 Folksong Project: East European Jewish Folksong in its Social Context (YIVO Folksong Project). Performing artists include Eléonore Biezunski, Carol Freeman, Sarah Gordon, Janet Leuchter, Jerry Marcus, Sarah Myerson, Ethel Raim, Miryem-Khaye Seigel, Ilya Shneyveys, Lorin Sklamberg, Josh Waletzky, and Eléonore Weill.

The panel discussion will take place Monday, May 23, 2022 at 1:00pm ET on Zoom. This panel will discuss the recently completed YIVO Folksong Project, which digitized the 2,000 Yiddish folk songs and oral histories collected by YIVO from 1973-1975. The panel will feature project director Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, ethnomusicologist Mark Slobin, singer and composer Joshua Waletzky, and YIVO Sound Archivist Eléonore Biezunski for a discussion of the project, including examples of material from the project, and a demonstration of how to access this material.

The final concert will take place on Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 7:00pm ET at YIVO. This concert features music by Frederic Rzweski alongside the premiere of new works by Derek David, Lainie Fefferman, David Ludwig, Daniel Schlosberg, and Dan Shore. Performances will include current and former students of the Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program: sopranos Jardena Gertler-Jaffe and Samanta Martin, mezzo-soprano Megan Jones, tenor Max Jansen, pianist Sung-Soo Cho, Violinist Blanche Darr, Clarinetist Collin Lewis, and special guest pianist Ryan MacEvoy McCullough. This evening also features performances by Eléonore Biezunski, Zhenya Lopatnik, and Sarah Myerson.

EVENT SCHEDULE

Program:      Concert
When:            Monday, May 9, 2022 at 7:00pm (ET)
Where:          In Person at YIVO in the Center for Jewish History building (15 West 16 Street, New York, NY) and livestreamed on Zoom
Reservations Available at:  yivo.org/FolksongFestival1
Cost:              Admission: $15, YIVO members & students: $10 | Free on Zoom

Program:      Concert
When:            Wednesday, May 18, 2022 at 7:00pm (ET)
Where:          In Person at YIVO in the Center for Jewish History building (15 West 16 Street, New York, NY) and livestreamed on Zoom
Reservations Available at:  yivo.org/FolksongFestival2
Cost:              Admission: $15, YIVO members & students: $10 | Free on Zoom

Program:      Concert
When:            Sunday, May 22, 2022 at 4:00pm (ET)
Where:          In Person at the Jalopy Theatre (315 Columbia Street, Brooklyn, NY) and livestreamed on Zoom
Reservations Available at:  yivo.org/FolksongFestival3
Cost:              Admission: $15, YIVO members & students: $10 | Free on Zoom

Program:      Panel Discussion: The YIVO Folksong Project
When:            Monday, May 23, 2022 at 1:00pm (ET)
Where:          On Zoom
Reservations Available at:  yivo.org/FolksongFestival4
Cost:              Free

Program:      Concert
When:            Thursday, May 26, 2022 at 7:00pm (ET)
Where:          In Person at YIVO in the Center for Jewish History building (15 West 16 Street, New York, NY) and livestreamed on Zoom
Reservations Available at:  yivo.org/FolksongFestival5
Cost:              Admission: $15, YIVO members & students: $10 | Free on Zoom

Continuing Evolution: Yiddish Folksong Today is co-sponsored by American Society for Jewish Music, The Center for Traditional Music and Dance’s An-sky Institute for Yiddish Culture, Congress for Jewish Culture, Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience, Milken Archive, The Neighborhood: An Urban Center for Jewish Life, and Yiddish New York.

Proof of full COVID-19 vaccination with matching ID is required in order to enter the Center for Jewish History. View our Visitor Safety Requirements.

For more information contact:
Alex Weiser
Director of Public Programs

YIVO

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. For nearly a century, YIVO has pioneered new forms of Jewish scholarship, research, education, and cultural expression. Our public programs and exhibitions, as well as online and on-site courses, extend our outreach to a global community. The YIVO Archives contains 24 million unique items and YIVO’s Library has over 400,000 volumes—the single largest resource for the study of East European Jewish life in the world. yivo.org / yivo.org/the-whole-story